DE PERE, Wis. — The staff at Creative Sign Company know exactly how many days are left to the NFL Draft in Green Bay.
And they’ve got the electronic sign out front counting down the days to prove it.
In the lead up to the event, Chief Operating Officer Brian Meyer said Creative Sign is working with other businesses to help them put their best foot forward.
“If you pull up on a hotel. Is the sign lit? Does it look nice? Is it clean? Is the environment good?” he said. “You’re probably more apt to stop there — especially with your family — if a place is nice, taken care of and looks good.”
Meyer said they’ve seen some businesses move up projects for delivery ahead of the Draft to tap into the expected flow of people in the city.
“They’re going to be trying to attract a large volume of people. We want people to think ahead and get stuff done as soon as possible so they don’t run out of time,” he said. “With some of the things they may be getting done, it could require permitting and that also takes time.”
The Draft runs April 24-26 at Lambeau Field and other venues in the surrounding area. Officials expect as many as 250,000 football fans could attend the three-day event with an economic impact of $94 million statewide.
Nick Meisner of Discover Green Bay said the event provides a unique opportunity in the area.
“When the Draft is going on, people who are traveling here for the Draft are going to be at the Draft,” he said. “I think keeping an eye out at what the NFL is scheduling and looking at how you can fill in those cracks as a business and offer things when the NFL isn’t is really important.”
Discover Green Bay has compiled a resource page for businesses.
“It’s really so the businesses around the area know what they can and can’t do when it comes to NFL logos, branding, etc. But it goes a little deeper,” Meisner said. “It also gives tips on how to get your website ready, how you can leverage social media, what the profile of an NFL fan is and what they like to do.”
Meyer said the Draft is a prime opportunity for the community to showcase itself to people around the nation and world.
“We want all the businesses in the area to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible,” he said. “We want them to get as much traffic as they can and ultimately be the biggest winner in the end, the local community businesses.”
